Pok Fu Lam - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Pok Fu Lam or Pokfulam is a residential area on Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...

, at the western end of the Southern District

Southern District, Hong Kong

The Southern District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is located in the southern part of Hong Kong Island. It had a population of 290,240 in 2001. This district has the fourth lowest population of Hong Kong.-Geography:...

.

Pok Fu Lam is a valley between Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak is a mountain in Hong Kong. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak. The mountain is located in the western half of Hong Kong Island...

and Mount Kellet, around Telegraph Bay

Telegraph Bay

Telegraph Bay or Kong Sin Wan , formerly known as Tai Hau Wan , is a bay in the west shore near Pok Fu Lam, between Sandy Bay and Waterfall Bay on the Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is where the Cyberport is located.-History:...

.

Pok Fu Lam can claim several firsts in the history of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

: It was the place where Hong Kong's floral emblem, Bauhinia blakeana
Bauhinia blakeana
Bauhinia blakeana is an orchid tree of the genus Bauhinia with large thick leaves and striking purplish red flowers. The fragrant, orchid-like flowers are usually across, and bloom from early November to the end of March...

, was first discovered; the site for Hong Kong's first reservoir

Reservoirs of Hong Kong

Reservoirs in Hong Kong are spread fairly evenly over the entire 1,104 km² of Hong Kong. There is plenty of space for small reservoirs in Hong Kong, as the hilly areas provide valleys suitable for water storage. However, the larger reservoirs, i.e. High Island Reservoir and Plover Cover Reservoir,...

, Pokfulam Reservoir, (1883, now part of a country park

Pok Fu Lam Country Park

Pok Fu Lam Country Park is located on Pok Fu Lam, the western end of the Southern District of Hong Kong Island. The 2.7 square kilometre hectare park was designated in 1979.The park includes:*Sylvan sanctuary*Pok Fu Lam Reservoir *Hong Kong Trail...

); and the site for Hong Kong's first dairy farm by five investors, including Sir Patrick Manson

Patrick Manson

Sir Patrick Manson was a Scottish physician who made important discoveries in parasitology and was the founder of the tropical medicine field....

in 1885. The farm supplied not only milk, but cattle to Hong Kong, and later became Dairy Farm

Dairy Farm International Holdings

Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited is a retail company in Asia, with a legal base in Bermuda. A member of the Jardine Matheson Group, it is a leading pan-Asian retailer which processes food, wholesales food and personal hygiene products in the Pacific region and in China. Jardine Strategic,...

. However, it no longer exists in Pok Fu Lam.

Sights

While the farm no longer exists, its remains and other colonial era institutions continue to exist serving, in some cases, other purposes. The former dairy farm can still be seen in the grassy slopes of the hills, but mainly in the two milking sheds that remain. They are between the new Vocational Training Center and the much older Béthanie

Béthanie (Hong Kong)

Béthanie is a historical building complex located in Pok Fu Lam, in Hong Kong built in 1875 as a sanatorium by the Paris Foreign Missions Society . It is a Grade II historic building....

. Béthanie and the cow sheds are presently administered by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, but were previously controlled by the University of Hong Kong which used Béthanie as headquarters for the HKU Press. The APA uses Béthanie and the cow sheds for various educational purposes, but also lends the chapel in Béthanie to St. John's Cathedral (Anglican) as the locale for Emmanuel Church - Pokfulam, a daughter (subordinate) church serving the west of Hong Kong island.

Béthanie was built as a sanatorium between 1873 and 1875 for the French Catholic missionaries in China, better known as Missions Etrangères de Paris

Paris Foreign Missions Society

The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious order, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons dedicated to missionary work in foreign lands....

or MEP. Recently restored with loving care, Béthanie is now used by the Academy for the Performing Arts for educational purposes. Béthanie includes a small chapel. In its present restored configuration, this chapel seats about 100 and is used each Sunday by Emmanuel Church - Pokfulam, a daughter church of St. John's Cathedral. The Béthanie chapel is a beautiful Neo Gothic structure. Some of the original statuary and stain glass windows have been recovered and re-installed.

Across the Pokfulam Road, is University Hall. U-Hall, as it is abbreviated, is a residential unit for undergraduates of the University of Hong Kong. Originally, U-Hall was the residence of a merchant, but eventually, it came under the control of the same French Catholic missionaries who built Béthanie. It was extended greatly and printed religious literature in its basement in many languages for nearly 100 years. In the 1950s, when missionary work in China died, the building was given to the HK government

Government of Hong Kong

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, commonly the Hong Kong Government, is led by the Chief Executive as Head of the Government, who is also the head of the Hong Kong SAR...

which gave it to the University of Hong Kong as a student residential unit. It is smaller now than it used to be, but still houses 100 or so undergraduates. There was a chapel in the building: it now serves as the dining hall for the students. University Hall is much in demand as a location for movies, wedding photos, advertisements, and other purposes.

Village

At the centre of Pok Fu Lam is an indigenous village, the Pok Fu Lam Village (薄扶林村), which is often mistaken as a shanty town

Shanty town

A shanty town is a slum settlement of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic...

by the residents of the surrounding apartments, who are nevertheless attracted by Pok Fu Lam's quiet, green environment. Not surprisingly, there are a significant number of expatriate

Expatriate

An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...

s living in Pok Fu Lam, many of whom work at the nearby University of Hong Kong. Pok Fu Lam is also the location for the Queen Mary Hospital (colloquially known as QM, established in 1937), one of Hong Kong's major hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

s.

Pok Fu Lam is connected to the Mid-levels

Mid-levels

Mid-levels is an expensive residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located halfway up Victoria Peak, directly above Central...

, Sai Ying Pun

Sai Ying Pun

Sai Ying Pun is an area in Western District on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is part of Central and Western District in district administration....

and Aberdeen by the Pok Fu Lam Road

Pok Fu Lam Road

Pokfulam Road, or Pok Fu Lam Road, is a four-lane road in Hong Kong. Built on Hong Kong Island, the road runs between Sai Ying Pun and Wah Fu, through Pok Fu Lam....

. Pok Fu Lam also outlooks Lamma Island

Lamma Island

Lamma Island , also known as Pok Liu Chau or simply Pok Liu , is the third largest island in Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Islands District.-Name:...

. Pok Fu Lam is connected to Kennedy Town

Kennedy Town

Kennedy Town is at the western end of Sai Wan on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It was named after Arthur Edward Kennedy, the 7th Governor of Hong Kong from 1872 to 1877...

via Smithfield

Smithfield, Hong Kong

Smithfield is a street with a length of approximately 1,300 m. in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Its northern section is a commercial and residential area, while its southern section is a road connecting it to Pok Fu Lam Road.-Location:...

and Shek Tong Tsui

Shek Tong Tsui

Shek Tong Tsui is a town in Sai Wan on the north shore of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. Administratively, it belongs to the Central and Western District....

via Hill Road.

History of Pokfulam Village

Pok Fu Lam Village is a historic village, It has existed since the beginning of the 17th century. Local residents in the past have repeatedly asked the government to give indigenous inhabitants of Pok Fu Lam the same recognition as residents of the New Territories

New Territories

New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...

. These claims have been rejected by the government which also threatened demolition of the village.
In the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

Kangxi period (late 17th c) chaos occurred when approximately 2,000 people seeking asylum from mainland China reached this point. The earliest original inhabitants, also moved to Little Hong Kong and lived on Ap Lei Chau

Ap Lei Chau

Ap Lei Chau , or Aberdeen Island, is an island of Hong Kong, located south-west of Hong Kong Island, next to Aberdeen Harbour and Aberdeen Channel, with an area of 1.30 km². Administratively, it is part of Southern District. Ap Lei Chau is the third most densely populated island in the world.-...

. The early villagers take Chen Hsing, Huang Hsing and the Luo surname primarily. They were farmers. In 1819 "Xinan County annals", mentioned that Lin Ts'un was in Hong Kong Island and was one of two villages (another encircles Huang Chuk'eng Hong Kong). It was described as "depends on Shan Pangchien, the structure is quite elegant". After the Second World War, the massive refugee influx seeking asylum from mainland China reached this point, resulting in the village population increasing by more than 100 households. The original vegetable gardens were replaced by houses. The population again increased in the 1980s with the improved economy. The village inhabitation only then started to reduce, but at present still many villagers live in Yu Ts'unnei.
Cultural celebrations include Lin Ts'unhsiang the big pit, also the dance procession of lanterns or torches, the Midautumn festival. In Man Hsiang the procession of lanterns

Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival ; is a festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar year in the Chinese calendar, the last day...

or torches, starts in the forest village, afterwards goes to the elder sister fairy tower and carries on to the village to grandfather's elder brother tower and in front Li Linghsien does obeisance and offers a sacrifice to him. The end of the procession ends up at the Wah Fo Chun nearby Waterfall Bay

Waterfall Bay, Hong Kong

Waterfall Bay is a bay on the coast of Wah Fu Estate, Southern District, Hong Kong.-History:...

, and sinks to in the sea, meaning "the death of the emperor".

Construction

The forest village is divided into three parts: Middle is "encircles the young", south is "the vegetable garden", the village tail is "Long Tzutu". In Lin Ts'unnei the houses are brick and galvanised iron roofs. In addition the village has characteristic towers, named Li Ling Fiary Tower, is approximately 5 meters high, estimated to be constructed in 1916.

Housing estates

Several private housing estate

Private housing estate

A private housing estate is a term in Hong Kong that refers to a housing estate developed by a private developer, as opposed to a public housing estate built by the Hong Kong Housing Authority or the Hong Kong Housing Society. It usually is characterised with a cluster of high-rise buildings,...

s are located in Pok Fu Lam.

Chi Fu Fa Yuen (置富花園) was developed in the mid-seventies by Hongkong Land
Hongkong Land
Hongkong Land is one of Asia’s leading property investment, management and development groups with premium commercial and residential property interests across the region. It owns and manages some five million square feet of commercial space in Hong Kong’s Central Business District serving...

. It comprises 20 towers of 28-storey high-rise buildings with a total of 4,258 residential units and 7 towers of 5-storey villa type low-rise buildings with 70 household units.

External links

Article about the Bethanie
Pokfulam Village Website on the village, including festivals.